February 22 seven more officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan were revealed to have accepted an improper banquet from Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s eldest son Suga Masatsu.
The number of officials involved increased to 11. They are suspected of violating the Japanese National Civil Servants’ Ethics Regulations. The Chief of General Affairs Takeda Ryota will decide on specific sanctions in the near future.
According to a report from Kyodo News on the 22nd, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan has determined that 11 officials have a stake in Masatake Sugawa and will impose pay cuts or warnings on 11 officials based on the severity of the circumstances.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan is currently investigating the number and amount of banquets accepted by 11 officials, and the results of the punishment will be announced within the month.
According to earlier reports by Japanese media, Suga Yoshihide’s eldest son, Suga Masasu, used to improperly entertain and give gifts to senior officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications from October to December 2020.
Suga is an executive and director of a subsidiary of Tohoku Shinsha, a satellite broadcasting and television program production company, and the main people he entertains are officials from the satellite broadcasting management department.
There is a stake between the two.
Japanese media have pointed out that the Tohoku News Agency once provided Yoshihide Suga with a political donation of 5 million yen (about $50k).
Yoshihide Suga himself was asked whether his eldest son had received officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan many times in his recent parliamentary defense.
He avoided making a clear statement on the grounds that “because it is currently investigating, I should not intervene in this matter.” Yoshihide Suga also said that after the incident was exposed, he received a call from his eldest son, telling him that if the company he worked for was conducting an investigation, he should “actually respond based on facts.” Yoshihide Suga also emphasized that he and the eldest son are “different individuals.”
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